Page 115 of Red Hot Harmony

More sniffing came. After that, I felt moisture on my skin.

Part of me was terrified and part of me was relieved because I couldn't remember the last time Ally had cried in front of me and the realization that she’d allowed herself to cut loose after shutting me out for so long had me shaking.

“It’s okay, Bug,” I said, kissing the top of her head. “It’ll be fine. You’ll see. All the great things you want to do, we’ll make sure you get to do them.”

She pulled back a little but didn’t meet my gaze. “What about Dante?”

“What about him?” I asked, my heart lurching.

“He didn’t come to grandma and grandpa’s anniversary. Does he not want to be with you...with us anymore?”

“No, Ally. That’s not it.” I took her face into my hands. “His friend had an...emergency.”

She narrowed her eyes. “What could have possibly been that important?”

“He needed to go to the hospital,” I tried my best to explain things in a way where it didn’t involve a name and the horrible word “overdose.”

“And you’re mad at him for that?”

“I’m not... How do you know I’m mad?”

“You two hardly talked during breakfast. I might be hung over, but I’m not blind.”

Yes, that was my kid. She could still crack jokes in the middle of this parent-child disaster.

I pulled Ally toward the bed and sat her down, then dropped into a crouch and rested my palms on her knees.

She stared me down with her red-rimmed eyes, waiting for a clarification, and it felt only fair that I gave her one.

“Yes, I’m still mad at him. He put me—and you—in an embarrassing position.”

“And so you’re going to hold this against him for the rest of your life now?” Ally wiped the traces of tears from her cheeks with the back of her small hand.

“I don’t plan to.”

“But we’re here now.”

“We are.” I nodded. “And I believe a conversation is in order.”

“So has he not asked for forgiveness yet?”

“He did, Ally… Sometimes, it’s just not that simple.”

“Itisthat simple, Mom. Especially if he had good reason to.”

“Why are you taking his side?”

She turned away and bit the inside of her cheek.

“Bug?” I squeezed her knee gently, realizing that my daughter was right. It didn’t need to be complicated.I didn’t need to make it complicated.

“You’re just going to scare him away like you scared every other guy away, including Dad.”

I had nothing to say.

Except maybe the truth. And while dumping all this info on a fifteen-year-old girl who didn’t have a very good track record of handling complex emotions yet, I probably owed it to her and to myself to be honest for once.

“Ally... Your Dad and I never loved each other. It was a mistake for me to pursue him. I was young and stupid and wanted to spite my mother, and guess what? I pulled it off. A few weeks later, after we’d both moved on, I found out I was pregnant.”

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